The Wisconsin Badgers were in position to pull out a road win but fell short at Maryland, losing to the Terrapins 68-63.

The Badgers trailed by ten points at halftime before coming back to lead by two points on a number of occasions in the final minutes. Then, down by five, the Badgers erased a 65-60 deficit but Maryland would outscore UW 8-3 over the final 1:25 to pull out the win.

It’s the fifth straight loss for Wisconsin (10-15, 3-9 Big Ten), dropping them into a tie for 10th in the Big Ten with Minnesota and Iowa. The losing streak is the longest for the Badgers since they dropped six straight during the 2008-’09 season.

The loss also means the Badgers can’t finish above .500 in Big Ten play. The last time Wisconsin finished at .500 or worse in Big Ten play was 1999-2000 when they finished 8-8 under Dick Bennett. But that team reached the NCAA Tournament and eventually the Final Four.

Ethan Happ had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Badgers. Nate Reuvers added 13 with Aleem Ford and Brad Davison each finishing with 12 points.

The Badgers, down 3, had a chance to tie the game with 9.8 seconds left. But Davison decided to drive inside instead of going for a three-point shot. He missed and the Terripins would make two final free throws for the final margin.

Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ combined for 41 points and 17 rebounds, helping the 10th ranked Wisconsin Badgers end a two-game losing streak with a 71-60 win over Maryland at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers trailed the 24th-ranked Terrapins by six points at halftime but dominated the second half to pull out the win.

Both teams dealt with foul trouble throughout and the Badgers dealt with poor shooting in the first half before turning things around.

Wisconsin failed to shoot 40% or better in five of their last six games and started Sunday’s game by hitting just 28% from the floor (7 of 25) in the opening half. But this time the Badgers rebounded, shooting 51.5% (17 of 33) in the second half. [Read more…]

Maryland has suspended freshman center Diamond Stone one game for his actions against Wisconsin‘s Vitto Brown last Saturday.

The athletic directors, coaches and even players have shared apologies and the Big Ten Conference has reprimanded Stone for his actions.

The Big Ten did what it normally does, get the last word. The conference issued a press release that says at the end, “The Big Ten Conference considers this matter concluded and will have no further comment.”

What the Big Ten didn’t do is reprimand its officiating crew for not ejecting Stone from the game in the [Read more…]

Wisconsin Badger senior point guard Traevon Jackson was hoping to be back in the lineup for Senior Day last Sunday, but he wasn’t cleared by the teams medical staff. Jackson has now missed 12 games after breaking his foot in a game against Rutgers in early January.

Jackson said Sunday that he would return soon, but Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan expressed some doubts during the Big Ten coaches teleconference on Monday.

Ryan was asked if Jackson had a decent shot at being back in the lineup in time for the Big Ten tournament, two weeks from now in Chicago. Ryan said, “That might be tough. I can’t rule anything out because the coaches are the last to know anymore. His clearance may be two weeks, who knows?”

The Badgers (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) have two games left in the regular season. They’ll travel to Minnesota on Thursday and at Ohio State on Sunday. Any combination of one Badger win or Maryland loss and the Badgers will clinch the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and win the Big Ten title outright.

The Badgers dropped one spot to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday. They dropped to 5th in the coaches poll.